The
title of this article immediately provokes at least three questions: 1. What is
meant in this context by pastoral ministry? 2. What is the purpose
of attempting an overview and seeking a perspective of
this phenomenon? 3. What can such considerations contribute to the broader
questions of ministryspecifically, to women in ministry? What does all
this have to do with religious women?

During
the past five years religious life in the United States (1) has been sharply
characterized by an increased expansion and diversification of activities in
what is known as the apostolate. In the beginning it seemed as if
some justification were needed to support the change from modes of apostolic
activity which had come to be expected from religious women to those which
seemed unfamiliar if not (in the minds of some) unsuited to the
religious way of life. In defense of the new activities, several
arguments arose. There was the need for adaptation in response to
the call for aggiornamento launched by the Second Council of the
Vatican. There was the invocation of a return to the sources and initial
raison detre of each religious order, congregation or institute.
There was the discernment of relationship between the charism of a
founder/foundress and the corporate charism of the group which developed
historically in the wake of his/ her inspiration, as well as the relationship
of both of these gifts to the charism of each individual actual
member.

Whatever the explanation, it cannot be denied that there seems to have
been a felt need on the part of women religious to justify or,
perhaps more correctly, authenticate the emerging pattern of their involvement
in apostolic areas into which they have recently begun to move. As the nature
and scope of the multiple new activities open to religious women become more
clearly defined, it also becomes more possible to deal with the questions
attached to this phenomenon in a more realistic manner. For this reason, it is
necessary to examine the significance and the implications of what is now
called pastoral ministry.

The
purpose of this overview and perspective is to explore the meaning of the term
pastoral ministry: to probe the rationale for which the term is
applied to specific activities, and to question the relationship between
pastoral ministry as it seems to be emerging in the Church today and the role
of women in ministry as that question evolves in theological
discussion.

Historical Overview

The
term pastoral ministry, in the sense in which it is currently
understood, is of recent development in the Catholic Church. In the practical
order the term seems closely related to what the French call, une
pastorale densemble (2). In its present mode, it is a
phenomenon predominantly, though not exclusively, peculiar to the American
Church in the Seventies. It seems to hold promise for years to come.

The
earliest instances of the concept of pastoral in Christian
tradition can be traced to the revelation of God as shepherd (pastor) of His
people. Thus, following the metaphor of the shepherd both as leader and as
companion (3), the flock is not some unthinking mass or herd but a
community capable of response to an authority of devotedness and love. In the
Ancient East the role of the pastor was seen as a process of drawing
together in unity and of providing care for the young and helpless.

In the
Old Testament, a constant recurrence of the shepherd theme can be
found in terms of the salvation of Israel (4). This is so, in spite of the
limited number of texts in which God specifically is called
Shepherd. Nevertheless, the pastoral care of providing
understanding and wisdom is given by the faithful shepherd who continues to
direct his flock toward the day of the coming of the Messiah.

Jesus
himself is the good Shepherd of the New Testament (6). With
merciful concern, he leads his flock to living waters (7). Jesus fulfills in
his person the prophetic expectations of the Good Shepherd and institutes for
certain of his followers a pastoral office in the believing community.
Following this commission, the lost sheep is to be sought and found (8) and the
entire flock is to be served from the heart. In the gospel
according to John, where the Shepherd metaphor is most fully developed, there
are clearly Eucharistic overtones to the pastoral care of those who are to be
nourished and fed as they are brought together in unity (10).

Historically, the role of the pastor has developed in the Christian
Church in terms of a ministry of care for the believing community. While an
over-emphasis of the metaphor has brought about rejection of the idea of the
people of God as a flock of sheep, there remains a
deep-lying conviction that some members of the ekklesia are called and
gifted to be pastors for a work of ministerial service and pastoral
care. The terms pastor/pastoral and minister/ministry have evolved together.
This does not imply that a new concept of pastoral ministry has
necessarily emerged in distinction from the separate underlying meanings
attached to the several words.

Thus,
for example, an attempt to seek out the concept of ministry takes us back to
the Old Testament notions of the councilor, the court assistant, the sacred
minister (11). Angels stand before the throne of Yahweh as ministers (12). The
ebed Yahweh, too, was a servant, hence a
minister.

In the
New Testament ministry (diakonia) is understood as service. The office
of ministry exists in and for the community (13. Authority to govern is given
as a pastoral office in view of salvation (14). Thus, there is recognition of
the relationship between ministry and apostolate (15). In the Pauline writings
(16), a diversity of ministries is acknowledged as given by the Spirit for the
sake of the whole body.

This
brief review of the biblical concepts of pastor/pastoral, minister/ministry is
far from complete. A fuller examination of the texts, their interpretation and
their influence on ecclesial orders in the course of history lies beyond the
limits of this discussion. However, even this hasty overview points to the fact
that it was in terms of ecclesial orders, liturgical worship and sacramental
life that an understanding of the role of the pastor and the
minister has prevailed in Christian tradition. Ecclesiastical
language has specified the understanding in terms of the clergy and the
hierarchy. Ecclesiastical practice has, until recently, determined the scope
and the nature ministry exercised by the pastors of the Church.

Theological Perspective

The
Second Council of the Vatican Initiated a project of ecclesial renewal that was
both ambitious and realistic. The ambition consisted in a vision of the Church
that would truly appear to all mankind as the Bride of Christ,
spotless and without wrinkle (17). The realism lay in the recognition that a
new theology of Church was to emerge from the life-experience of Christians, in
response to the desires, hopes and aspirations of all mankind. Life was to
provide the elements of theology.

In
addition to these religious notes, there was soon discovered a new category
which promised possibilities for theological speculation and reflection. This
was the category of signs of the times (18). Among these signs
could be counted the character of modern man, with his rejection of
need for redemption; the situation of the contemporary world-society, where
dehumanization frequently prevails; the development of new techniques and
methods of communications. There were others, of course. One sign of the
times which is pertinent to the topic of this paper is that of the actual
pastoral services of women, both religious and lay, throughout the Church in
our day.

The
impact of Vatican II was felt not only in Catholicism but, to some extent,
among all persons throughout the world. Other Christian confessions engaged in
ecumenical dialogue were especially touched by the concerns of Rome. As
theologians understood the task of reflection and debate in the post-conci1iar
world, they discovered a growing ferment regarding one topic of increasing
importance to all Christians: the subject of ministry. This question is asked
in various ways: What is the present situation of the traditional
ministries in the Christian community? What are the possibilities of new forms
of ministry for the future? Are new and changing ministries to be limited to
men? (19)

In an
attempt to answer these queries, some effort must be made to discern the future
direction which ministry will take. It is in this attempt that a discussion of
pastoral ministry in the life of religious women is especially pertinent and
important.

The
current theological searchings for a theology of ministry in terms of
developments in ecclesiology and ecumenism cannot be pursued in total
independence of the search for a pastoral dimension in theology. Ministry, we
are told by the theologians, must be explored in the light of the fact that
there are many ministries in the Church. The nature, role and function of the
ecclesial minister must be considered in relation to Christ, the priest, who is
also king and prophet; who is, at one and the same time, God and
man.

The
search for a pastoral dimension in theology derives" from the experience of
those who are convinced that the authentification of what is learned in
theological study must carry into the realm of Christian living in contemporary
human society.

The
on-going pursuit for an appropriate theological discussion concerning
ministry/ministries increasingly incorporates elements from the domain of
experience. So, too, the effort toward an effective, ministerial service is
found to be furthered by the integration of solid theological teaching and
insights derived from reflection on the actual pastoral situation.

Out of
the interaction between ministry and theology both fact and intuition have
emerged, suggesting that the domain of ministerial service in the Church need
not be as restricted, either in theory or in practice, as it has been in the
past several hundred years. An historical study of ministry, with attention to
the early centuries of the Christian era, leads to verification of this idea.
The question of the role of women in the Church and of women in ministry
naturally presents itself in this context.

As
frequently happens in the history of the Church and in human society, a
phenomenon of fact anticipates determination of legislation in societal
behavior in evolution and progress. In other words, movement at the grass
roots often accompanies, when it does not clearly precede, articulation
of a situation in legitimatized acceptance. In his discussion of authentic
ecclesial reform, Congar (20) describes the legitimate via
facti that preserves fidelity to the spirit of a law because it is fidelity
to the reality of the ekklesia. Here, we have an instance of the
dialectic between orthodoxy and orthopraxy. Here, too, is a recall of
Newmans defense of the role of the laity in the development of doctrine.
Finally, we must be ready to acknowledge in such movements the activity of the
Spirit, which Vatican II so clearly affirmed as present in the whole people of
God.

The
present development of pastoral ministry among religious women can best be
understood in the light of these reflections. As a phenomenon that is rapidly
developing across the country, this movement must be acknowledged as pastoral,
as ministerial and as appropriate to the role of religious women in the Church.
For each of these points, the activities speak for themselves.

Pastoral ministry is, in the first place, truly pastoral, if we speak
in ecclesiastical terms. In other words, an examination of the activities
comprised by the phrase pastoral ministry shows that such
activities tend to take place within the already existing ecclesiastical
structures. The parish or diocese is the structure most immediately accessible
to those seeking a locus for pastoral ministry. Both the diocese and the parish
are proving to be the structures within which religious women can exercise
pastoral ministry.

There
are definite advantages to this mode of operation. To quote Congar (21) once
more, the work of authentic reform must realistically deal with the actual,
historical Church. The prophet who calls for renewal must be able to set aside
his project in favor of a program that takes the Churchin
response to the prophetic wordfrom an already existing situation toward
one that assures both authentic renewal and deepened ecclesial
unity.

The
integration of women in responsible, pastoral roles within the traditional,
well-known structures of parochial life provides an avenue which opens toward
the development of new forms of Christian community where there is need and
readiness for these. The presence of women in functions of pastoral ministry
formerly exercised only by men can contribute to a revitalization of structures
that, at times, seem more outmoded than they actually are. The willingness of
contemporary religious women to exercise pastoral ministry within
ecclesiastical structures is an affirmation of a deep, if often implicit,
conviction that Church-as-institution need not stand very far removed from
Church-as-mystery of salvation.

From
another point of view, pastoral ministry is truly ministry if we speak
in ecclesial terms. The New Testament (22) bears witness to the
multiplicity and diversity of ministries in the Christian community. These
gifts are given for the sake of the whole community of believers. Clement of
Rome, later (23), reminds the early Christians that determined functions exist
in the believing community: episcopoi, presbyteroi,
diakonoi, laicoi; the Christian knows what duties and
responsibilities accompany each respective order. Within the scope of
activities proper to one who holds the Church as Sacrament, many ministeries
can be recognized. Thus it was in the beginnings of Christianity, where
ministry and service became synonymous. Service to the
com-munity of whatever nature was a ministry to the degree that
ekklesia was affirmed.

As an
activity open to the apostolic involvement of religious women, pastoral
ministry stands appropriately in the tradition of an understanding of the role
of women in the Church taken at its best. In spite of the evidence of
discrimination against or suppression of women in Roman Catholicism (24), a
careful reading of the New Testament, a study of documents from early Christian
literature, a survey of the relationship between the Christian concept of the
human person and societal evolution or between the status of women in ecclesial
society and that of women in the civic, political and economic order point to
the fact that women did exercise varieties of ministry in the Church. More than
that, they were expected to do so. One of the earliest services which the
Christian community came to look for from women was the ministry of
agape, a service of care and concern, of love and creation of unity in
the primary group of which each woman was member. In time, the
institutionalization of more specific ministries, the development
of monasticism and the clarification of diaconal roles in liturgical worship
brought influences of varying strengths to womens position in the church.
Nonetheless, the testimony is there for our understanding and encouragement. As
ministers of the community, both women in the early ages of the Christian
Church and those engaged in pastoral ministry today share a common
service.

Practical Implications and Possibilities

It
would be presumptuous and naive to attempt to describe in precise detail the
ramifications of pastoral ministry at this time. With every day new situations
are being discerned and ininitiated under this heading. Every theological or
religious journal announces a variety of institute offerings for those
interested or engaged in pastoral ministry. To give a name to the
diversity of activities would be to limit prematurely the scope of opportunity
now available for exploration and experimentation. One thing, however, seems
certain: pastoral ministry in one way or another is parish
ministry. As the forms of parish life adjust and change, therefore, the needs
for service appropriate to this community, with these
characteristics, grappling with these problems can be recognized and
met. For the time being, we might be content to accept as a working
definition of pastoral ministry: that situation which
accommodates the collaboration in equality and complementarity of dedicated men
and women within the ecclesiastical structure of parish life in response to the
needs of the people of God.

Such a
definition would allow for several variables. In the first place, pastoral
ministry is spoken of in terms of a situation, This frees those
engaged in this endeavor from pre-conceived notions of role or function which
might be appropriate in one instance but not in another. Secondly, the role of
women in ministry at the parochial level is rightly considered in terms of an
equality that recognizes the possibility of complementarity, through
differentiation and duality, rather than the obligation of striving for
identity, through restitution for discrimination. Furthermore, women are not
envisioned in isolation, but in-relation-to that other representative of the
human race, man, with whose cooperation both Universe and Kingdom are to be
built. Finally, allowance for growth and development in Christian community is
provided as the ecclesiastical structure of parish life does,
indeed, become a response to the needs of the people of God.

As
women religious, then, take up the service of pastoral ministry, as associate
pastors, parish coordinators, adult education directors, responsible for
catechetical, liturgical and spiritual renewal in a parish community, how is
their activity to be evaluated? How is the phenomenon of pastoral ministry to
be assessed? Because the movement at the grassroots has already out-distanced
theological reflection or ecclesiastical discipline regarding this phenomenon,
clear-cut norms for pastoral ministry are not yet available. It is possible,
however, to examine the movement in relation to the broader question of the
role of women in the Church with focus on the aspect of women in ministry. What
does the question of pastoral ministry have to say to these
questions?

The
first point of significance regarding women in pastoral ministry is that
ecclesial and even ecclesiastical recognition is accorded women in such
ministerial roles. In other words, the frequently repeated (of late) plea for
recognition by the Church of ministerial service actually performed by women in
many places is heeded in the domain of pastoral ministry. This is especially so
when official parochial or diocesan status is granted the women parish minister
in a title such as associate pastor.

The
second point in favor of pastoral ministry for women is that an avenue of
collaboration between religious and lay women is now eminently accessible. It
is true that the majority of women engaged in pastoral ministry are religious
women. There is nothing that indicates this need be so. Christian women, of
whatever state of life, have much to share in terms of faith-experience, mutual
support, diversified expertise, complementary roles of Christian living.
Pastoral ministry provides a privileged forum wherein Christian women 
religious and lay  can learn to collaborate for the sake of the Kingdom
with Christian men  clerics, religious, lay.

The
exercise of pastoral ministry provides a unique opportunity for the continuity
of those services for which women were especially appreciated in the early
Church: ministries that are prophetic, catechetical or liturgical in character.
In her proclamation of the Good News in Jesus Christ or of the Word of God
itself, the woman minister shares in that prophetic role which consists
essentially in a call to fidelity in terms of covenant relationship between God
and His people. This role calls for the ability to discern the Spirit at work
in the life and times of human beings, to read the signs of the
times, to bring to bear on contemporary human society the light of the
Gospel and the ideal of Gospel-living. The occasions for catechetical ministry
are multiple, in this age of renewal in religious instruction, stress on adult
education and efforts to proclaim the message of revelation in a manner suited
to the men of this age. Pastoral ministry in the dimension of liturgical
functions varies according to what is possible and practicable from one locale
to another, as communities are prepared and educated to renewal in worship and
prayer. Pastoral ministry as prophetic, catechetical and liturgical approaches
the style of service associated in the early centuries of Christianity with the
role of the woman deacon.

Women
in pastoral ministry are advantageously placed to foster the growth in
consciousness of those many Christian women who neither discern a call nor
acknowledge within themselves the charism for a service in the Church beyond
the limits (and extents) of their own family, be that lay or religious. Theirs
is a ministry of agape, corresponding to the role to which all Christian women
are called. With increasing awareness, these women must find the means to
reconcile mankind with life, to use the words of Paul VI at the
close of Vatican II. In witness to the charism of Christian marriage or to that
of fraternal love for the sake of the Kingdom, these women can be encouraged to
find significance in a life which they want to have meaning for themselves.
Pastoral ministry, then, can become a function of spiritual leadership toward
other women in their quest to hear and respond to the Gospel in their daily
life situation.

This
concept of spiritual leadership as one aspect of pastoral ministry for women
calls for extensive exploration. In the early Christian community, the woman
deacon prepared women, children and young boys for baptism through instruction
and spiritual direction. She fulfilled the same ministry in the post-baptismal
period. The role of spiritual direction was not unknown to her. The
contribution of women to the growth and development of the prayer movements
found in the believing community at the present time are closely linked to this
spiritual ministry. Women in pastoral ministry ought to be called on for
spiritual retreats, days of renewal or recollection; they ought to be available
as resource persons on prayer and spirituality. In their own persons, they must
be able to witness to the Church as ecclesia orans, an aspect symbolized
especially by the woman at prayer in the primitive Church. It is clear that
women in pastoral ministry have already moved further, without explicitation of
their role and function, than women seeking ordination, in spite of the
extended theological discussions devoted for some time to the question of women
and diaconate or, less frequently, women and priesthood. The actual presence of
the woman in a role of pastoral ministry will do much to dispel prejudices
stemming primarily from sociological or psychological convictions. In a less
emotionally-charged atmosphere, a clarification of the question of women in
ordained ministry may be more profitably pursued. Again, as Christians become
accustomed to the association and collaboration in parish or team ministry
between men and women, the concept of a woman in diaconate or priesthood may
take on a new perspective in the eyes of those considering the possibilities.
Women themselves may come to realize that the distinctions between
deaconess and woman deacon, between the
liturgical deacon (leitourgos) and the servant
deacon (diakonos) are more than semantic. It is even possible that women
themselves may come to perceive the inappropriateness or unnecessity of
admission to a reserved ecclesiastical order for the exercise of
official ecclesial ministry.

All of
this, however, is to some extent still in the future, albeit, a gradually more
immediate future. For the moment, the challenge and the possibility are with
us: women in pastoral ministry. Their present task is to achieve adequate
theological competence to fit them for a ministry of responsible service. They
must possess sufficient liturgical expertise to be effective in programs of
worship and prayer renewal. The intentionality of their service must be
directed by a profound fidelity to the historical reality of the Church as
institution, as well as to the mystery of the Church in relation to Jesus
Christ.

Having
realized this, religious women will not have resolved the entire problematic of
their commitment to pastoral ministry. Questions regarding the future of
religious life, the renewal of orders and congregations in relation to the
ekklesia, the differentiation of one charism from another, canonicity,
sacramentality  these will still have to be considered. Perhaps the most
significant point to be made is that, even as these words are being written,
the task has already begun.

Notes

1. The
present discussion is limited to the American scene and is primarily concerned
with the situation of religious women in the Catholic Church. This does not
mean to imply that the phenomenon described is exclusive either to the United
States or to other Christians.

2.
This phrase does not lend easily to translation, given its cultural overtones.
It refers to a pastoral ministry which partakes of the essential and universal
mission of the Church in a given milieu through appropriate, adapted, apostolic
service.

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